Highlight: Will The Church "Lose" in History?

The Claim That Christians “Lose” in History

Well guess what. We don't win down here. We lose. You ready for that? Oh Youth. Oh, you were a post-millennialist. You thought we're just gonna go waltzing into the kingdom as you took over the world.

No, we lose here. Get it. They killed Jesus. They killed all the Apostles. We're all gonna be persecuted.

If any man.

Come after me let him.

But.

Himself.

A Humble Correction to a Caricature of Postmillennialism

Okay. So first of all correction to brother MacArthur a humble correction because I love this man. Very much a humble correction is post-millennialists. Don't believe that right? No post-millennialist believes that we go Waltz.

It has taught that nobody. And I've read a significant number of books by post-millennialists. I've read a significant number of statements dating all the way back to Athanasius the patron saint of post-millennialism and no post-millennialist believes that we are waltzing into the kingdom that is a caricature of Post-millennialists, we do not believe that at all.

But here is dr. MacArthur saying we lose down here. We lose down here get that through your heads. We lose down here and to that I would say there's a number of ways to refute that. But how about the meek shall inherit the earth?

How about Romans 5 Abraham's descendants would inherit the Romans 4. Abraham's descendants would inherit the world. It's clear in Scripture that it's the meek that inherit the earth and Abraham's descendants that inherit the world and It's very different from this idea of Losing down here.

Scripture’s Promise of Victory in the World

And so again, we could do a whole episode responding showing all the passages of the promise of victory in the world. We've already touched on some of them. We could do Isaiah 2. We could do Isaiah 9 Isaiah 11.

You could do Daniel 7 13 through 14. You could do Isaiah 42. We could go again for days on this to show that is actually not what Scripture says that we lose down here. It says the opposite actually. Is there persecution in the first century for the church?

Absolutely. That's the inception of the church. Is there gonna be persecution as we bring the gospel into hard places and bring it into conflict with idolatry and paganism? Absolutely. Christians are still gonna die as we proclaim the gospel and and grow in his kingdom expands and grows around the world however.

According to Scripture Jesus wins down here.

Christ’s Victory in His Death, Resurrection, and Ascension

And on that one significant point they killed Jesus. Don't you know, we don't win down here. That's how Jesus won, right?

Okay.

That's it's yeah. Yeah, they killed him and also there's not just the fact that he won in his death. But that he won his life in his resurrection. Yeah, Jesus didn't stay dead. He's alive and more more than just being alive from the dead Jesus actually ascended and was seated on the Messianic throne.

So yeah he died and he won there and then won again with his resurrection and won again with his ascension and won again with being seated on his throne and now he is the ruler of everything the ruler of the kings of the earth today and Has all authority in heaven and on earth day so the point in playing that we're gonna continue this discussion because it's a good one to have we need to be having it the Point of that is to actually demonstrate.

Why “Lose Down Here” Produces a Defeatist Theology

No, actually there are elements to Eschatological beliefs that do tend towards a loser Theology that we lose down here and you've got one of my very favorites. Dr MacArthur saying that right there. I mean guys how many times do we need to hear people saying things like why bother polishing brass on the sinking ship and all of that because that's the portrait if we lose down here then We act like it.

That's if you tell people we lose down here, then they will act like it and so what we're saying here is that There is a fundamental conflict between what? Dr. MacArthur says here in terms of the authority of Christ and King of Kings and Lord of Lords and Scott and Virgil and Josh in terms of the full authority of Jesus.

He is they would say he's he is reigning now. He is the King of Kings now and then what they say about the implications of that in this life now, there's a conflict.

Ordinary Christian Faithfulness and Historical Victory

It's really really important really quick. We don't win down here we lose. Okay, that's one side and then in the podcast that we're reviewing right now Scott says be faithful. Ordinary Christian faithfulness moms.

Ordinary Christian faithfulness businessmen, whatever your vocation whatever you're calling whatever you're doing. You have no idea what that produces. Well, we were just told on one hand that it doesn't mean anything because we don't win down here.

We lose. And in what sense does that carry over? To Victory if we don't win down here, but go be faithful. Go preach go live go conduct business go teach go raise a family.

Why?

We don't win. Yeah. That has to mean something and I think their response of course would be well, it's the ultimate victory, right? It's eternal victory. Jesus wins in the end, right? Whereas our position would be yeah and amen.

But there's also this historical mop-up project that he's intimately involved in very much. So yeah.